Myanmar's (Burma) central bank set a reference exchange rate of 818 kyat per dollar today, the first business day under a managed float currency regime that is the most dramatic economic reform yet by a one-year-old civilian government.

Welcome to the new Burma!' says Myo, forgetting for a moment that the generals renamed it Myanmar. Myo is a cheerful man, wrapped in the traditional longyi. He leads us to a beautifully polished Chevrolet bus left behind after the Second World War. Now, at last, we get the chance to see a country whose regime has been so roundly criticised in the West.